Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Indonesia's Constitutional Court has ruled the country's much criticized truth and reconciliation commission is illegal, casting doubt on whether victims of rights abuses under former dictator Suharto will ever see justice.

The body, which had yet to start sitting, was intended to probe the political killings, disappearances and massacres that occurred during the 32-year regime of Suharto, which ended in 1998 amid pro-democracy demonstrations.

Critics say that lawmakers, many with links to Suharto and the brutal military that propped up his rule, created a severely flawed body that infringed on the rights of victims and did not allow for the full truth behind the abuses to be revealed.

The court Thursday declared several articles concerning the provision of amnesty and reparations in the laws setting up the commission unconstitutional and said the body had no legal basis, the court said in a posting on its Web site.

The surprise ruling means that new laws will have to be rewritten to set up the body, a process that will likely take several years and be dependent on the political will of current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, himself a former military officer.

"The fact that the legislation has been struck down should not relieve the Indonesian government of its ongoing commitment to provide justice, truth and reparations to victims of gross violations of human rights," said Paul van Zyl, the vice president of the New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice. "It places a greater obligation on the government to ensure that the rights and needs of victims are properly addressed," he said.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangengan said the government was studying the ruling, and "its implications for the future."

The court made its judgment in response to a plea by right groups, which were seeking to challenge several articles in the law, not to have the whole body declared illegal.

The commission has long faced opposition from right-wing Muslim groups opposed to any move to uncover the truth behind the massacre of around 500,000 suspected communists in 1965. The killings were mostly carried out by Muslim groups under the orders of Suharto, who assumed power a year later.

Still powerful military officers are also against the commission, which could reveal the extent of army killings in putting down separatist movements in far-flung regions, notably Papua and Aceh.

Suharto, 85, has been declared too sick to stand trial for any crimes committed during his rule.